Three's a Charm
by Susanthegentle05
Summary: I'm sorry, really bad at nocide. Corruption. Means to an end. Those are things that Sakura and Kakashi would not stand for. With a chance meeting with someone who was thought dead, the Uchiha clan have a chance to clear their name and their destiny. Summary might change. Right now will update oneshots of of the story until I can get it structured.


Onsehot 1#: A relaxing evening after a long day.

Collapsing on my mat, I felt every bone in my body creaked, spreading soreness throughout my muscles. It's been a month since attack from Pain. We finally got most of the debris cleared away. It's been a 24 hour day for me, dealing with patients, recoving hospital files, and pushing plans for a better hospital facility to handle more patients and research. Even though we have new council members since ousting Danzo and the other two, everyone is trying to grab their part of the money. I understand that everything is important but still….. I let out a long groan into the mat. I am so glad I found my old childhood hideout intact, including everything else. Over the years, the hideout grew by me moving some dirt around, I'm able to stand up all the way with two feet left. After a heavy rain season, a lot of my stuff got wet and muddy. While trying to scoop some mud out, since it would not dry under the shrubbery, the ground gave away, dragging me to an underground area that held a small cave leading to a waterfall to our village's forest. The cavern under the giant tree I hang out at has a warm spring and a couple hollowed out areas where I made a weapon, and a medical storage, also I made a small greenhouse on top of the tree in the middle where a somewhat flat top sit in the middle of the extending branches. This became my perfect get away, but now it serves as my home. After gathering my family's things from what I could after Pain's attack I stored them in our family storage, which almost empty and the buildings didn't suffer any damage. I've been resting here on my spare time. But I'm not always alone, I have a normal visitor and sometimes a sleep over buddy but only he knows about this place aside from Ino.

"You should really get cleaned before even thinking about eating or sleeping for that matter."

'Sasuke…he's been here already' Rising up to a sitting position, I looked at him tiredly. "I'm gonna skip eating, because I'm too tired.."

"No. You're gonna eat because I know you haven't ate since yesterday evening. Coffee and water does not count. Food pills don't count either." He added with a little wrinkle on his nose.

Sasuke boy has a point Lady Sakura, go wash up," said an impatient Isobu.

"You boys are all the same. So much focus on the flavor. It's childish," I rebutted playfully, causing him to glare at me. "Okay I'll clean up." I got and walked past him to head to the hot spring. First, I headed down the tunnel to the waterfalls and washed up there, putting on my black tank top and shorts before soaking in the hot spring. Thankfully, thanks to having two chakra natures, earth and water, I decided to make some levels into sitting and standing platforms but left enough room to continue the warm water flowing through. Sitting down on the platform, I leaned until the water came up to my neck. I somehow began loving the water more than normal and understanding it's meaning in life after Isobu and I bonded. I almost fell asleep except for footsteps that came to behind my head. I sat up to find Sasuke standing in shorts right behind me. He doesn't say it but he asks for my permission to enter the spring with me. As always. I smiled softly and nodded. He almost smiles and jumps in with me. He sits next to me before he positions my body between his legs before wrapping his arms around me, tucking my head underneath his chin. He has always done this since little after we began dating. It was like he wanted to assure me that he and I always had someone in this who cared for one another. He became very protective of me since after we cleared his brother and him of all crimes and my parents' deaths.

"Where's Isobu?"

"He's resting upstairs. He wanted to work on a genjutsu seal that keep others from seeing or feeling the hideout," he responded. 'That's sweet.'

I snuggled into his warm chest, laying my left ear to his heart. "Do you think we should start telling others about us?" I asked.

Feeling his arms tighten a little around me, he breathed in deeply before letting out a sigh in thought. "I don't want to tell anyone yet. Everyone thinks it'll be there business and will nosy. And…."

"And?" I pressed, lifted my head from under his chin, taking my hand to place over his right cheek to face me, while my other hand rests on his chest over his heart. He responded in kind, looking into my eyes, as his hands rested on my waist and my shoulder.

"I don't want to do those double date things Ino would press us into. It feels stressful as well if Kakashi-sensei and Nii-san finds out. They'll be all over us for details and demand a chaperone. My brother would no doubt be set on being traditional. Especially Izumi. She'll asking if I'm treating you right as a lady and make sure that I take you out on dates….I really don't want to be pestered about it. Especially Shisui, He'll just pester us worse than Naruto."

"Well yeah but I think it's good for them worry. I mean they don't want us to do anything we shouldn't do yet."

"Like what?" he asked with a raised brow. Oh no, he is not doing this to me again.

"You very know what mister! I'm done. Ready to eat now." I moved to leave but his grasp was solid. "Sasuke," I started to complain.

"You didn't answer my question, Sakura," he answered, with a smirk slowly forming on his lips. "What stuff shouldn't we do?"

I felt a blush form on my cheeks. Deciding to bet a way to distract him. I pressed my lips to his. It started soft at first, brushing my lips to his top lip. He responded by sliding his fingers from shoulders to my hair. He began to deepen the kiss. My bet failed halfway as we stopped talking but I didn't have a chance to slip away. What's almost terrific and worst at the same time, he became a really, great kisser. I began to forget why I initially kissed him. I almost froze when I felt the smallest brushes of his tongue slipping into the kiss, sucking my lips in the process. Then I made a noise I never make unless I was getting a massage from Ino after a hard day at work and in turn I give her one. But this sounded different and spurned Sasuke onto trying to get entrance to my mouth. I almost did if it weren't for the kettle beginning to whistle. Wanting nobody to hear it, I broke away from an equally startled Sasuke, and stepped out dripping wet to take the kettle off the fire. After setting it down, next to the fire to keep warm, I turned to see Sasuke standing their dripping wet as well, holding a towel in each hand. I blushed at his attire only wearing his soaking shorts.

"You know you have seen me this way before Sakura," he mentioned handing me a towel. I took it and sat next to the fire to dry up, he did the same, sitting across from me. Reaching to the pot over the small fire, he lifted the top, stirring the rabbit stew he made with his catch as the leftover meat was strung up over a little higher than the fire, being smoked. He reached over for a bowl, pouring some stew in it before he offered some to me.

"Thank you," I said, taking the bowl from him. He served himself while I served us some green tea. We ate in a comfortable silence. When we finished, we cleaned up the bowls and served more tea in our cups before retreating up to the shrubbery level. I grabbed some clothes to change in, a large T-Shirt and thin long pants. Sasuke grabbed his to change downstairs, coming back in a black shirt and grey sweats. I lit a couple lamps in the meantime, so we could read some books I brought over from storage. After a few minutes I, couldn't concentrate on reading decided to sleep. Getting under the covers, I turned the side lamp on while Sasuke sat on his bean bag, to continue reading. I turned to my side away from Sasuke, facing the bushy walls. But I couldn't sleep. I was tired but I couldn't sleep. I hardly could sleep since my parents were killed by Danzo. Amazingly enough, instead having one of his subordinates do the deed, he did himself, killing Dad first to show he was serious. I looked away when he began pressing for answers with a Sharingan from his bandaged eye. Thankfully, training with Kakashi-sensei prepared me for that. I closed my eyes. And listened to my mother choking for breath as they slit her throat as I later found out. Tears began to slip from my eyes. It's been three months since they died. Everyone tries to help me but the only person who understand me was Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke found it in himself to forgive Itachi after personally confronting Pain with Naruto able to connect with the Akatsuki member through his pain too. It helped Sasuke understand and find peace and tries to help Itachi find peace with himself. The whole village apologized to them and asked for their forgiveness and to stay in the village.

I felt a shift in the sheets and the futon mat. Sasuke slipped in bed, wrapping his arm around me, bring my back to his chest. I placed my hand in his intertwining them. He sensed my restlessness, he rubbed his thumb over my hand, he moved his lips over my hair, kissing it before inhaling it's scent. It's moments like these I feel at home with him.

Sasuke POV

It took a while but I felt her drift off asleep. She had nightmares since I ran into her muddy and bleeding, trying to reach Sora-ku, the weapons supply shop to hide in from the Foundation agents hunting her. Amazingly with a blind Shisui and Izumi in tow. I could see that they were trying to kill them, we intervened. We managed to capture them but they committed suicide before I could interrogate them. Sakura went into a short coma from blood loss and trauma. Isobu told me what happened to her, involving me into her and Kakashi's investigation into Danzo Shimura and his involvement with the clan massacre. Shisui filled me in on the rest, in order to understand consequences from both sides. It took some convincing to realize my brother was backed into a corner while Danzo played everything behind the scenes, trying to make the Leaf powerful but disrupt peace with other villages to make them weaker than ours. He considered the Uchiha a threat to his plans from taking power in some way, as they would stand with the Third Hokage. I had so much hate from everything that happened but I did what I could to help them oust Danzo with his scheming including information that Orochimaru could only get from him. Itachi and Sakura, sacrificed so much for this get out into the open. Right now he's a wanted criminal in all shinobi related nations. He probably helped Orochimaru plan the invasion in the first place. He used Shisui's Sharingan to convince Itachi to murder our clan. It makes my blood boil every time I think about it.

I just wanted to kill everyone who threaten to destroy the Leaf and my clan with hatred. Sakura and Itachi could hold some of my hatred at bay. Then when meeting Pain, I felt like I was staring into my own twisted reflection. It was a wakeup call when Naruto and I went to where Nagato was hidden. He finally could let go of his pain, reviving everyone in the Leaf that he killed. Afterwards it was round the clock guard duty with clean up, taking minimal missions to raise some money for the village. I worked the police force while Nii-san worked with the Intelligence Division. Amazingly, Sakura and I got close to what considered to be a relationship. It wasn't ideal like everyone else, but I wasn't that open with my emotions and yet Sakura understands our connection that stemmed before I left the village years ago. Being with her is like home, and I would do anything I could to protect her and everyone we care about. Tomorrow is another day but, maybe it's time to tell at least Itachi and Kakashi. At least they'll keep a secret. I look over to the nest of leaves and twigs with a blanket with Isobu laying on it, lightly snoring with a bubble. Sakura gave several Isobu several opportunities to sever the bond between them so he could be fully free, but he came to care for her and decided to stay as he would not have her be a jinchuriki. To be honest if someone tried to force that on her or if she even thought of choosing that life, I wouldn't hesitate to take her away from here to where we could live in peace from political intrigue and the threat of shadowy backstabbers.

Feeling her shuffle, I am removed from my thoughts, as she snuggled into my chest. Without thinking, I moved to place my lips on the hairline on her head, inhaling her scent. Ever since we were genin, she slowly became someone precious to me. I'm not sure still if she ever realized it but I gave her subtle hints that her opinion of me matters more than everyone else's, even if that didn't stop me from leaving. I regret not seeing her grow into the strong kunoichi she is now. Hell she was even able to treat my brother and his illness. I wonder sometimes, how it might've been, had I not left. But then again I went on a suicide mission, I didn't want to get her involved in my misery. She's too good for that. It's another day tomorrow...and an uncomfortable conversation with Nii-san and Kakashi. Before long though with Sakura in my arms, I too fell asleep.


End file.
